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The changing nature of research; the concept of the research lifecycle and researchers' career development; the key role of Information Literacy in helping improve the quality of research; the Researcher Development Framework; the 'Informed Researcher' model
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Moira Bent, Newcastle University.
Facilitating Informed Research: old wine in new bottles
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What do researchers do?
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What the researchers said
Research is• Theory-led; Data-led; Scholarship• Grounded in disciplines; multi / inter / trans
disciplinary• Investigation; interpretation; gathering
evidence• A holistic activity; a set of transferable skills• Collaborative / solo activity• Related to self• Validated by peer group• Made meaningful by an external audience
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What do researchers do?
Manage research projects Search for existing information Seek out new data Analyse information and data Evaluate information and data Manage information and data Communicate Network Write and present their findings Market their outcomes
“Research is a process of investigation leading to new insights, effectively shared”
David Sweeney, HEFCE, April 2013
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Research lifecycle
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Formulate a research question
Develop a research strategy
Acquire the appropriate
information/data
Reflect on the research process
/ information
Engage with the information/data
Turn the information
into knowledge
Are all researchers the same?
Disciplinary differences Age Experience Motivation Funding Workplace - HE, Industry, independent
research body.... Stage in their research “lifecycle” Personal preferences – learning styles,
habits, attitudes.
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A Personal Information Literacy Landscape
Bent (2007) Moira’s Infolit blog www.moirabent.blogspot.com
The 7 ages concept – the researcher’s lifecycle
Masters students Doctoral students Contract researchers Early career researchers Established academic staff Senior researchers Experts
Bent, M., Gannon-Leary, P. and Webb, J. (2007) 'Information Literacy in a researcher’s learning life: the 7 ages of research. ', New Review of Information Networking, 13, (2), pp. 81-99.
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Early
Apprenticeship - influenced by supervisors / tutors / mentors
Skills and competences are defined Different levels of control Transition from structured learning to self-organization Interaction between personal life / prior experiences Managing different roles e.g. other jobs, developing
teaching skills Information consumer, objective is production
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Mid
• Moving field / moving role / learning a different landscape • Balancing teaching and research• Situating themselves / making their name / establishing
credentials– locally (e.g. in department)– wider research community
• Need to be adaptable / avoiding isolation • Starting to supervise other researchers• Starting role in management / administration• Information production and consumption• Shift from systematic to pragmatic information retrieval
‘Librarians love to search. Everyone else likes to find’
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Late / Senior
• Developing into/ having a significant role in research leadership
and administration
• Leading research teams / research centres / research projects /
mainstream management
• Supervising and examining theses
• Teaching research methods
• Plenary conference speaker
• Editorial board of journals etc.
• Refereeing / peer reviewer / specialist assessor
• Disseminating research practice or defining their field
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Information Literacy Landscape
Manage
Present
Evaluate
IdentIfy
Gather
Scope
Plan
The SCONUL Seven Pillars of Information Literacy
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Facilitating informed research at your institution
What can you do to help develop “informed researchers”?
What ‘s the same? “old bottles”
What’s new/different? “new bottles”
What do you still need to know?
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© Bridgeman Education
© Bridgeman Education
RDF produced by Vitae after consultation with research community
Tool for planning, promoting & inspiring researchers to achieve excellence
Supports personal, professional and career development of researchers in HE
Describes the knowledge, skills, behaviours and personal qualities of researchers
Researcher Development Framework
Reproduced with kind permission from Vitaehttp://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy-practice/234301/Researcher-Development-Framework.html
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Information seeking Information literacy
& management Synthesising Evaluating IPR/copyright Attribution/co-
authorship Publication
RDF recognises importance & place of information literacy in research process
RDF & IL
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Seven Pillars: Research lens
Scope
Understands:
• What types of information are available
• The characteristics of the different types of information source available to them and how the format can affect it
• The publication process in terms of why individuals publish and the currency of information
• Issues of accessibility
•What services are available to help and how to access them
Is able to:
• “Know what you don’t know” to identify any information gaps
• Identify the types of information required to meet the need
• Identify the available search tools, such as general and subject specific resources at different levels
• Identify different formats in which information may be provided
• Demonstrate the ability to use new tools as they become available
Identify
Understands:
• New knowledge & data is constantly being produced & there is always more to learn
• Being information literate involves developing a learning/research habit so new information is being actively sought all the time
• Ideas &opportunities are created by investigating/seeking information
• Scale of the world of published & unpublished information & data
• Different disciplines place greater emphasis on different types of information & data
• A researchers’ need for information will vary depending on the task at hand, subject discipline & stage of research
Is able to:
• Identify a lack of knowledge in a subject area
• Identify a research topic / question and define it using simple terminology
• Articulate current knowledge on a topic
•Recognise a need for information and data to achieve a specific end and define limits to the information need
• Use background information to underpin research
•Take personal responsibility for research project
• Manage time effectively to complete a research project
Information literate person
Identify
Scope
Plan
GatherEvaluate
Manage
Present
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Vitae’s Information Literacy lens on the RDF
The Informed Researcher
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Informed Researcher@ Newcastle
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Old and new bottles?
Structures Subject staff with additional/changed roles &/or Specialist
Research Support Librarian Blurred roles of library and other university departments –
alliances and collaborations Buildings and Locations
Retaining the “wow” factor of a scholarly research collection Dedicated space in the library for researchers Taking the research support service to the users
Collections Archives and special collections as USP Traditional research monographs Access to everything they need, where they need it, when they
need it Specific research activities
Systematic reviews Institutional repository / REF Data curation and management
Information Literacy IL Skills: Finding, using, managing, but extending into how and
where to publish, bibliometrics IL attributes: Understanding their role and responsibilities
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Thank you
Moira Bent [email protected]
More about RIDLs: http://www.researchinfonet.org/infolit/ridls/
Download the Vitae resources: http://tinyurl.com/aqmnlhs
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